Advances in media-related technologies have given users the opportunity to select from a great number of media items, such as songs, games, video programs, and so forth. However, improvements in these technologies have also introduced new challenges. A user may find it time-consuming and cumbersome to search through a large collection of media items to find one or more media items of interest. For instance, even if the user knows the identity of a desirable item, the user may have difficulty sifting through the large collection to find this item.
In other instances, the user may be consuming a broadcast of media items and encounter one or more items that interest the user. As appreciated by the present inventors, the user may wish to purchase the interesting media items or otherwise discover more about the interesting media items. However, conventional broadcast technology does not incorporate a mechanism that allows a user to interact with a source of broadcast content and therefore does not include provisions for allowing the user to purchase or otherwise discover more about the interesting media items. For instance, a conventional radio includes no mechanism that allows a user to purchase songs that are broadcast to the user via the radio.
There is therefore a need in the art for more effective strategies for accessing media items and other content.